Moonrise & Aurora

Moonrise & Aurora

by Jakub

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I suppose this isn't about photography so much as the online distribution of photos.

The gist: I'm looking for an online source for a robust catalog of free and high-quality color photos taken within the past decade or so. Flickr demands I do too much clicking-thru to determine if a photo is available, and its max size/resolution is on the low end of what I'm looking for. Google Image search is also insufficient, as it's polluted with junk. Any ideas?

Thanks! SB

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Why was this question voted down? It's not obvious to me. – blubb Jul 19 '11 at 9:38
@Sam What is the "free" you are looking for? – koiyu Jul 19 '11 at 10:22
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This is off-topic. – mattdm Jul 19 '11 at 12:14
Hi Sam. As stated, this kind of question is off-topic here. – jrista♦ Jul 19 '11 at 23:49
Not off-topic in my mind. I think this question is valid. – Imageree May 30 '12 at 22:58

closed as off topic by mattdm, Itai, Imre, jrista♦ Jul 19 '11 at 23:49

Questions on Photography Stack Exchange are expected to relate to photography within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote

I suspect most photographers will be twitching uncomfortably at your request for "free" photos: everyone seems to want to use other people's work for free these days. :-\

However, without trying to second-guess your motives it's a valid enough question. Most high-quality photos you find online will be under copyright, meaning you can't re-use them for any purpose without the copyright owner's permission. However, have you discovered the Creative Commons area on Flickr? If people are kind enough to license their work in this way then you're actively encouraged to use it accordingly. Flickr's advanced search page lets you limit your search to CC-licensed material taken within the last n years, although there's no way to filter by maximum image size.

Other than that, all I can suggest is you pick up a camera and get out shooting. :)

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+1 for that last comment. :) – mattdm Jul 19 '11 at 13:22
up vote 1 down vote

you will find some photos here: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/ which have very free Public Domain license.

or try Deviantart, there are some photos with a free license, which can be used as stock photo, but they are mostly limited to noncommercial use.

and as I know, all photos made by U.S. government employees are licensed under Public Domain - for example photos by U.S. army.

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